Saturday, March 28, 2009

Happy Birthday!

Today is Allen's birthday. Jackson and Miller made him a card and got him a shirt. I gave him this

and something he needed even more...the gift of time without chores. Hopefully this will help make his life a bit more relaxing.

Happy Birthday to the best husband and father I could ask for!



Wednesday, March 25, 2009

All kinds of things

Miller is really crawling now. He goes from room to room looking for things he can play with (get in to). Just when we finally got rid of them, we are going back to life with baby gates! He is always into something (like the dog water bowl)! My friend Angel really wanted me to tell you about Miller getting into Jackson's little potty but that would be gross, so let's pretend like those kind of things never happen around here, OK?
Yesterday when I finished doing the breakfast dishes, I walked back into the Living room to find this. See how nonchalant he is about it. No big deal Mama, just crawl up on the stool then pull up on this little table. Easy Peasy!


Sunday he was off his nap schedule, but if you let him take a late nap he will NOT go to sleep at bedtime, so instead I thought it would be fine to just let him stay up a little long. At about 5:15 he got kind of cranky. So Allen got him his pacifier. Just to make his point, this is what he did. He wanted a nap, so he made it happen--on the living room floor! Here he is passed out cold, face down. Guess he was tuckered out from all his gettin' into stuff!


Jackson continues to work on his potty training. We are getting closer every day--closer to me losing my mind that is! One piece of advice I would pass along is that you might not want to keep your bribes--I mean rewards-- in the linen closet. Because if you have a smart little monkey, you might come out of the baby's room with every pillowcase, hand towel and blanket on the floor and your two year old looking like this.
Oh and you REALLY shouldn't hide the sidewalk chalk in that same linen closet because you might find all your pillowcases colored purple! Not that I would do those things--nor would Jackson, I'm just saying...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Aquarium Visit

When Kelly and I were fresh college graduates we went on a really fun trip where we camped and saw the sights all up the East Coast. That trip lasted about a month but made a lifetime of memories. One of our first stops was at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Later that afternoon we had another stop...by a Maryland State Trooper who claimed that we -meaning Kelly- were speeding. But I digress... I never would have imagined that I would return to the same aquarium almost 15 years later with my husband and 2 young sons, and that we would be living not too far away from it. Life is amazing.
Since we visited SC and Jackson watched Finding Nemo with my sister, Michele, he has been on a fish/whale/starfish/diver kick. Every night before he goes to bed he says, "Let's talk about whales." or Nemo or any of the other characters he can think of in order to stall the inevitable. He is very adamant about it too, don't get any character's name, color, gender or story plot wrong, because he doesn't put up with that kind of nonsense.
So, we packed up Saturday morning and headed for Baltimore. We may have been going to the Aquarium, but really we were going to see Nemo. Some parts were more interesting than others, but Jackson found some of his favorite characters along the way, and eventually we did spot Nemo.
after the Aquarium tour we went to the dolphin show and that was the cherry on top. He loved seeing the dolphins and was absolutely delighted when they did their tricks.
And I am sure you can guess what Miller did during our trip to the aquarium. He just hung out in the Baby Bjorn, smiled at people who told him he was cute, kicked off his socks 378 times and pulled a little girl's hair who was standing in front of me. What a doll! In his defense he was just grabbing what was in front of him at the time. He grabs everything.

There were so many sharks there, and they were BIG too!



Allen and Jackson finally got to see Nemo. Turns out clown fish are very good at hiding in their anemones.






Miller and I taking in some fish.


The Seahorses were so neat to watch



Yes, these dolphins were really this close!!




And the answer to your burning question is NO! Kelly did not get a ticket that day! We have come a long way my friend! Love ya!

Friday, March 20, 2009

You Be the Judge

Happy Spring! Today is the first day of Spring and it has me thinking. I have so many pictures of Jackson during his First Spring that I love. By then he was eating, sleeping and a pretty charming fellow! I was going through my pictures and started thinking about whether or not Miller looks likes Jacskon. Sometimes yes, they could be twins and sometimes no, not at all.
Here is a picture taken of Jacskon on March 15, 2007.

And one on March 21, 2007


And here is one of Miller, March 18, 2009



What do you think?

I think a couple of weeks ago I promised some pictures of the new chompers. Here they are in all their sharp glory.


And because i just can't help myself!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Haulin' Stuff

It's official--The Gon Geere Tractor is a hit!
Yesterday it was warm enough to go outside, so we went out to play. Jackson had a ball picking up sticks. It went something like this-- Drive to a stick, get off the tractor, pick up the stick, put it in the trailer, then drive 3 feet to the next stick and repeat about 47 times. A fun time was had by all!

 

 





Today we finally got some Spring weather. It was sunny and 70 today. That is tractor driving weather if ever there was such a thing. So Gon Geere got another workout. Today Gon Geere was pulling 2 boys. You have never seen a prouder big brother than when Jackson was pulling his baby in the trailer. They both loved it. Pulling such precious cargo is serious business-- check out Jackson's look of concentration. We're still working on the steering thing. He is all about going around in circles. Maybe he watched the movie Cars one or twelve times too many!
 

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The dismount gets a 7 from the Russian judges. This was just before the trailer jack knifed and the baby got dumped on his head. Good thing we have been working on toughening up the butterbean!

Just so you know I didn't dress them in matching outfits on purpose. I mean who would do that? Me? Yes, I would, but today I didn't. They just both happened to be in navy and green ---John Deere green at that!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Leprechaun

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We may or may not have a little bit of Irish in us, but this little guy sure looks like he has a little leprechaun in him. So mischievous! I wish I could raise my eyebrow like that. Wouldn't that make my "What were you thinking?" look much more effective?


This is Miller's favorite pastime. He waits for Jackson to take a nap, then he raids the cars basket. He knows he is safe during Jackson's nap and he plays with ALL of Jackson's toys. Smart little bugger- and more than a little mischievous!






I was trying to get pictures of him pulling up, but so far I haven't been able to capture it with the camera. Stay tuned!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Gon Geere






Among the many adorable things Jackson says right now, Gon Geere is pretty cute. He really likes Gon Geere tractors and can tell if it is a Gon Geere tractor or not. He has a hat that he wore on Halloween that is too small for him now. He loves it and wants to wear his Gon Geere hat, but then remembers it's too small and says, "Here Miller". So sweet to his baby brother. Guess we need to get him a bigger size. I'm not ashamed to tell you that my oldest son has a big head. Means he is smart, right? So we will probably be getting the big kid size for him.
Anyway the real reason for this post is to show you Jackson's Gon Geere tractor. I went to a Baby and Kid Bazzar a few weeks ago and saw this tractor for $40. I knew he would love it and I was right. He is learning to use the pedal and steer. Unfortunately it got a little snow on it and the pedal isn't working too well these days. I've got to take it in for a tune up. Now that will surely cost me way more than the $40 I paid for it...oh well. Should be a great toy for the boys to have for a long time.!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

So adorable

Those eyes, those cheeks, that smile...I'm smitten...no further explanation necessary!





Sunday, March 8, 2009

Where do I start? Super long post!

Our trip to Greenville was a whirlwind! There was wind, rain, and even a few inches of snow! We got to see so many people we love and everyone got to meet Miller and smother him in adoration.

Here are some of my girlfriends loving on Miller. Thanks Katie for having us all over. And a bigger Thank you for all the train things. It has occupied lots of Jackson's time.


My sister, Michele, wins the Aunt of the Year award. She was a huge help with the boys and loves every minute of it. Jackson and Miller are lucky to have a wonderful aunt who thinks that everything they do is cute and funny. I tried to get a good picture of her, but since Miller refused to sleep most nights, neither of us was looking particularly hot most of the time. I don't think you can see her circles under her eyes at this distance!


We weren't prepared for snow. But we made do with some pirate rain boots, socks on the hands and blue jeans. It was too cold for us to stay out long, but don't worry all of our time out in the snow was well documented.



Here is Michle's horse, I mean dog, Sassy in the snow. Jackson loved telling her what to do in his very loudest voice, every 10 seconds or so! He even told her "SASSY GO GET IN THE SHOWER!", right after Michele told me she was getting in the shower.


My brother KC and his kids Riley and Braedyn also came to visit us at Michele's, Miller loved when Uncle KC held him. Too bad for me it was a lot like shaking up a Coke and giving it to someone to drink. He spewed for a very long time after all the fun he had with KC. Thanks so much for that KC!



We got to spend a great afternoon with Kelly and AnnaKate. Jackson absolutely loves AnnaKate and was on his very best behavior the whole time. Miller had no trouble keeping up with them. He is sure that he's just one of the kids, so he just worms his way in and plays with whatever they are playing with.





We got to visit with Susanne and Hampton, Cathy and Emerson and had such a fun time together. My pictures are not so great, but I think Susanne has some on her camera that are better.




Aunt Sharon came down from Asheville on Tuesday and got to meet Miller also.

Thursday my firend Kim and her sons were in town from Charlotte, so I got to visit with them for a bit. Baby Drew is a doll.


Allen's parents were in Greenville during our visit too, but unfortunatly I didn't bring my camera that day.

Mom took some 6 month pictures of Miller, as usual getting pictures of my boys is an experiment in terror, but of course mom got some great ones. Can't wait to get them printed! Thanks so much Mom!





I was so happy that Michele and I were going to get to see the finale of the Bachelor together. But then... oh my! I am so upset by what he did to my girl Melissa on national TV. My mom once told me, "When you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas!" Time for a flea dip girl!